Cursed
by Azikai
Summary: The last thing Optimus would expect from his brother, Megatron, happened within the quartex when all of NEST was out. "Cybercat." Cybercats were dangerous creatures, surviving past the Predacons, and the source of most youngling and sparkling deaths on Cybertron. Four of the Autobots, including Optimus, went out to neutralize the Cybercat. But things didn't turn out as expected...
1. Prologue

**Optimus: I dislike the way the story is going already...**

**Me: Too bad. *Prances in circles* I own the autobots...**

**Ratchet: *Brandishes wrench* **

**Me: *squeaks* Never mind!**

* * *

Optimus Prime stumbled over a Chinese freeway, narrowly missing passing vehicles as he ran after a Decepticon Cybercat, kin of Ravage. Behind him were Ironhide, Bumblebee and Sideswipe following in the pursuit, dodging civilians and buildings.

**.:He's turned into an alley. Cut him off at the end!:. **Optimus shouted into his comm link. Ironhide and Sideswipe broke off from following the Prime and turned into another alley, meaning to come out and catch the Cybercat.

"Suckers!" the Cybercat sneered from the top of a red brick apartment building. Sideswipe nearly rammed face first into an alley street light, distracted by the 'Con a little too much for a moment.

"Say that the my cannons, you punk-aft Cybercat!" Ironhide shouted, his two arm cannons sliding out of his wrists. Optimus skidded to a stop behind the weapons specialist and shoved Ironhide's aim toward the sky.

"There're people in the building, Ironhide, if you would care to scan." Prime said, transforming to his alternate form and driving into another alley. Bumblebee ran past the silver and black mechs and jumped on top of a smaller building, leaping from roof to roof in pursuit of the laughing Cybercat.

"Idiot." Sideswipe teased, skating after Optimus. Ironhide growled and followed at a slower pace, keeping his cannons out and ready to scrap the annoying Decepticon.

Optimus transformed back to bipedal mode and looked up at the Cybercat, who was now atop a beige brown apartment building standing around seventy-five feet tall. Prime narrowed his optics at the 'Cons next actions.

"All will fear Lord Megatron and bow to him as lord and master of the universe!" the Cybercat roared, his energon veins beginning to glow a bright white. Sideswipe scowled and unsheathed his blades, leaping onto a shorter building beside the yellow scout.

**.:Colonel Lennox, now would be a good time.:. **Optimus said into the comm to the _NEST_ Colonel William Lennox. He looked to the sky to see the waiting military Chinook helicopter hovering a ways above the Cybercat.

"Frag, I need to get up there." Ironhide grumbled when he caught up with the other Autobots. Bumblebee rolled his optics, whirring as he jumped to a higher roof with Sideswipe.

"Humans will be of no help where you're going, Autobots." The Cybercat laughed, turning into a blinding white blur. A field of white energy surrounded the 'Con, expanding to surround the Autobots. Then darkness.

Colonel William Lennox sat beside Chromia, one of the few Autobot femmes, in the Chinook, dazed. The Autobot mechs and the bogey 'Con had just all vanished into thin air. He and Chromia exchanged glances.

"Will, Where'd they go? Was this planned?" asked Epps.

"I don't know." Lennox replied to his friend. Epps rubbed his head and looked out the cargo door at where the Autobots and the Cybercat had been only five minutes before. Lennox looked out a window, eyes narrowed. Chromia vented and transformed into her navy blue Jaguar XKR alt form, facing the cargo doors quietly as her thoughts dwelled on how the mechs had vanished, her Ironhide with them.

_Where the Frag did you go big bot? _Lennox thought as the helicopter turned to fly the soldiers back to _NEST_ base.

* * *

A few minutes before, in the Decepticon warship, the _Nemesis_…

"The Cybercat number one has activated and successfully transformed Prime, the scout, weapons specialist, and the front-liner, Lord Megatron." said Shockwave, his one red optic glinting in victory. Megatron smirked triumphantly.

"Bring the other in here, and send the third to the Autobot base. We're ready for our own, transformation." He chuckled. Shockwave left to find the said Cybercats while Soundwave explained how everything about the Cybercats worked, as the Decepticon scientist, Knock Out, explained it to him.

'The Cybercats can unleash their energy to turn any Cybertronians within their energy field into one of the planet's animals, a cat. The only way to return to normal is by the concentrated light of a full moon or whatever light an eclipse can give.'

Megatron smiled, planning carefully. An eclipse was to happen in only two orns, lunar, and a full moon in one orn. Megatron meant to be prepared. As what the humans call cats, he would kill Prime much easier, and then come back to normal, robotic forms to take over the Earth.

Little did the Decepticon leader know, turning all into cats would be of more benefit to the Autobots than himself…


	2. Chapter 1

**The first… three chapters I already have written and typed, they just aren't ready to go yet! LOL. I'm not sure if the genre should be part Hurt/Comfort… Cursed does have 'Bots and Cats getting over past hurts and fears, but it's more of an Adventure thing. Knockout _really _outdid himself this time!**

**BTW Cursed is simply a side story I'm working on while I wait for feedback on Survival's recent chapter. Can't exactly continue with Chapter 4 of Survival until I have feedback, so go check it out, peepers! Gotta love the peeps… peeps… peeps… peeps… peeeeeeeeeeps…**

**I like the chickie and bunny peeps. Okay… back to latter subject! Please have mercy on my grammar. Still working on it. My grammar book hates me. But my Math book loves me as much as to be a little too close… in my personal space… I despise math. -_- (yes, the mathbook thing was a rant/vent/thingy.) F.Y.I I do own all the OC Warriors in Cursed, but I sadly don't own the Autocats… as Autobots, I mean. I'd be perfectly content (maybe) if I owned the Decepticons… they need a serious makeover *smirks * as in a new paintjob and everything!**

**Megatron: *whimpers ***

**Me: Oh God… I made Meggieton WHIMPER! EPIC VICTORY!**

**Megatron: *morphs out his cannon ***

**Me: Epic Fail… *runs away screaming (happily, might I add) * COME JOIN MY TRANSFORMERS FAN SITE AT  . ! Oh, and my Bronies United site at  .  (long name, I know. It was all that was open…)**

* * *

Furyclaw eagerly trotted along beside the Blazeclan leader, Goldenstar, her orange fur glistening from the recent bath she had given herself before leaving camp. Only two moons before, Furyclaw had finally been accepted into the Clan, and a moon before that she had shown up wounded from her escape from the flames of Diamondclan. Behind the orange and golden tabbies sauntered Sealeaf, and aqua blue/green tinted she-cat; Tigersky, an orange tabby she-cat with black tiger stripes; and Dieselfang, a pitch black tom with an always menacing glare, due to his disfigured face from a fox attack on the nursery when he was little.

"I smell something…" meowed Furyclaw. "Smells somewhat like rogues."

"Let's check it out then." Goldenstar replied, crouching down beside the warrior in the bushes. Furyclaw moved forward to the edge of a small clearing, claws unsheathed and ready to screech her motto when she attacked. Sealeaf raised her head above the leaves, her green eyes scanning the clearing. She gasped at what she saw.

"There's cats alright, they're funny lookin', and they don't look awake. Maybe they're resting…" Sealeaf meowed.

Furyclaw gave her friend a confused look before she bounded out of the bushes, hissing. "Feel the Fury of the Claw, punks!"

The unconscious cats simply stirred at Furyclaw's noise, and a particular royal blue tom with red highlights groaned from the opposite side of the clearing.

"Eh, must be hard of hearing." Furyclaw mused, trotting over to the blue and red tom. She took a deep breath and screeched in his ears: "AWAKEN AND FEEL THE FURY OF THE CLAW!"

The tom jolted awake and stumbled to his paws, looking utterly bewildered. His cobalt blue eyes flashed with fear that was quickly hidden. Furyclaw smirked and nearly burst out laughing at the tom's surprised face until Goldenstar nipped her tail. Sealeaf batted Furyclaw in the back of the head, only to be rewarded an acorn in the muzzle.

"Forgive my warrior, she tends to be… Eh. I'm Goldenstar, leader of Blazeclan, and this is Tigersky, Dieselfang, Sealeaf and Furyclaw, who was the one to startle you." The golden tabby meowed, yellow eyes glinting at Furyclaw in a slightly amused way.

"I-I am Optimus Prime. Where am I?" the tom asked. Furyclaw and Sealeaf were busy waking a dark gray tom, a yellow tom with a black dorsal stripe, and a silvery gray tom. Goldenstar noted all the toms strangely had blue eyes, just different shades.

"On Blazeclan territory, Optimus Prime." Goldenstar pronounced the tom's name carefully, the name feeling strange to her. Furyclaw poked the dark gray tom in the nose roughly to awaken him fully, to be rewarded with a smack in the muzzle with four claws.

"Ironhide, watch the weapons…" Optimus told the gray tom as he sheathed his own claws. He twitched an ear in the silvery gray tom's direction.

"By the Allspark… we're cats." The silver tom meowed.

"Strangely enough, Sideswipe, we are." Optimus agreed, looking back at the Blazeclan cats. Furyclaw hissed playfully at Ironhide, ignoring the scratch on her nose from the tom's claws. Sealeaf rolled her eyes and stood beside Goldenstar, eyeing the blue and red tom warily.

"Who are all of you?" Tigersky asked Optimus.

"Well, you've already met Ironhide, and that's Sideswipe and Bumblebee. We are the Autobots." Optimus replied, nodding his head toward the silver and yellow toms. Goldenstar dipped her head curtly in their direction and twitched her tail-tip. Dieselfang narrowed his eyes at Optimus, quickly looking away to hide his sparking light red eyes from the other tom. Bumblebee opened his mouth to say something but end up coughing harshly. Sideswipe face-pawed.

"Now you can't even whirr, use radio, bleep-beep?" he asked. The yellow tom shook his head sadly and hung his head. Optimus cleared his throat and Bumblebee raised his head and nodded to the tom. Goldenstar sat and watched the toms, head tilted slightly as she debated whether to invite them to her clan. Furyclaw was still bounding around the still groggy Ironhide, dodging his angry swipes with giggles. The new warrior would have to learn the hard way, Goldenstar mused.

Optimus looked at the golden tabby. "Can you give me our _exact_ location?' he asked.

"On the northern side of the Blazeclan border." Goldenstar replied absentmindedly as she watched Sealeaf prodding at Bumblebee's tail-tip. Optimus narrowed his eyes at her reply and turned, jumping into the tree he had been lying in front of before Furyclaw rudely awakened him.

"Oi, what you doin' up there?" Furyclaw called up to the tom. She scowled when he ignored her; Furyclaw isn't one to take being ignored lightly. Ironhide took the chance he had and shoved the orange she-cat into a puddle, smirking afterward.

Optimus only glanced down at the other cats once he reached the topmost branch of the pine tree. All around were more treetops by the millions. They were in the middle of nowhere. Prime felt worry seeping in and quickly pushed the emotion away, telling himself that he and the Autobots would find a way back to their normal selves, somehow. Things usually come out O.K. for the Autobots. Usually.

Ironhide looked up at his leader, head tilted. A harsh wind shook the treetops, making Optimus's branch sway, and the weapons specialist knew that the Prime had taken no notice of the wind. "Optimus, it's too windy to be in the trees today!" Goldenstar called. Optimus was oblivious to the cats below. Sideswipe growled.

"He's in another reverie. Does it _way_ too often," the silver tom meowed.

Ironhide mumbled something before yowling: "Optimus get your big blue aft down here!"

Optimus jolted out of his thoughts and looked down at Ironhide, glaring at the older warrior. The wind blew the treetops again, and Optimus was much more aware of that now. Goldenstar called something, and it took a moment for the tom to figure out what she was saying. The wind. "Frag." Optimus muttered as another burst of wind nearly blew him out of the tree. He looked at the shorter tree in front of himself and unsheathed his claws, preparing to jump.

"Slagger. He's gonna be an idiot pancake!" said Sideswipe, eyes narrowed. Bumblebee's eyes were wide, as were Tigersky's and Sealeaf's. Furyclaw just stared. Dieselfang discretely smirked at the sight before he vanished into the bushes with unknown intentions. Goldenstar buried her face into her paws, growling. The cats on the ground watched Optimus leap from the top of the tall pine into a short sycamore, hooking his claws on a medium sized branch toward the top of the tree. A barely audible snap was heard.

"Knew it, blew it, shouldn't do it, idiot…" Ironhide muttered.

_The branch is gonna break! _Bumblebee thought, shooting to his paws. Sideswipe glanced at the yellow tom and shot off in the direction of the sycamore, hissing.

_I'm such a fraggin' idiot! _Optimus thought as he clawed at the branch, trying to keep his grip and climb up. He heard a snap and jerked his head toward the tree end of the branch, mentally noting the crack. Optimus's claws slid on the branch a few inches and he frantically clawed upward until his ribcage was on top of the branch. Another snap was heard and Optimus silently groaned in frustration, glancing at the enlarged crack. It finally snapped and Optimus felt fangs and claws grabbing at his scruff. Sideswipe had caught him. "Now, usually I'm the idiot, but this was different." Sideswipe joked through gritted teeth. Optimus narrowed his eyes and grabbed onto a thicker branch just below where he had been before.

"Don't mess with me right now Sideswipe." He replied coldly. Sideswipe shrugged and leapt back onto the ground beside Goldenstar and Tigersky. Sealeaf uttered a silent sigh of relief that no cat had fallen and batted the still staring Furyclaw's head.

"Ow."

"That didn't hurt." Sealeaf said, smirking. Furyclaw hissed and smacked another acorn into Sealeaf's muzzle, running off to hide behind Goldenstar and cackled. The new toms stared at the two she-cats then looked back at Goldenstar.

"Anyway, you're all welcome to come to Blazeclan, provided you didn't bring any trouble with you. You're not rogues, are you?" the golden leader asked.

"Of course NOT!" Ironhide growled in disbelief. "We've been together for dozens of vorns!"

"What are vorns?" asked Furyclaw.

"Eighty three orbital cycles." Sideswipe said a-matter-of-factly. Ironhide gave the youngling an annoyed glance as Optimus leapt down to another branch before trying the ground. "And orbital cycles are what we call your Earth years."

"Uh, what are years? Never mind. Don't do that again. You were lucky your friend is a faster climber!' Goldenstar chuckled, looking at Optimus. Bumblebee ran over to the Prime and batted the bigger tom's nose, then hugged him.

"You two related or somethin'?" Furyclaw asked. Ironhide grunted. Sideswipe seemed a little surprised that Optimus had actually been hugged; it didn't happen often.

Optimus nodded. "He's my youngling."

Tigersky and Goldenstar looked at each other with slightly confused looks before realizing what 'youngling' meant, and they smiled at the same time. Sealeaf gave up in batting Furyclaw and sat beside the other Blazeclan cats, avoiding the orange she' all together, especially Fury's 'Acorns of Doom,' as she called them.

"And a quiet one he is…" Sideswipe coughed quietly, looking away with an innocent look. Ironhide raised his brows at the silver tom as he stood and walked over to Prime and 'Bee.

"Goldenstar, I feel we can trust these cats-"

"We aren't really cats, we're autonomous organisms from another planet!" Sideswipe interrupted Tigersky in her sentence, and the she-cat growled inwardly.

"Riiiight, and I dance with Starclan, farting rainbows. You're all welcome in Blazeclan as long as you don't try anythin' idiotic." Goldenstar meowed, standing and laughing quietly. Optimus nodded curtly and glanced at the Autobots, narrowing his eyes at Sideswipe's prancing antics around Ironhide. Though a good warrior with the blades, the silver mech was still, a youngling. His pranks would only continue when Sunstreaker showed up. IF the yellow twin had faced the same fate as Prime, Bumblebee, Sideswipe and Ironhide.

Optimus turned and led his friends behind Goldenstar, all wondering if they would ever return to normal.

Ratchet morphed his servos into his battle blades, the much smaller version of Optimus's. Glancing at Arcee, the blue femme who was the sister of Chromia and Elita-1, he knew they were both wondering how the Decepticons knew where they had been hiding. Omega One merely held half of the Autobots, and _NEST _held the other half, but neither base would survive if the Autobots were separated. Mirage, Springer, Wheeljack, Trax, Hotrod, Jazz, Perceptor and a dozen others were fighting their own 'Cons around Ratchet, though the scientists without weapons had less of a chance.

**.:Now would be a perfect time for Optimus to show up, wouldn't it?:. ** Arcee commented via Convoy Comm. The name had been given to that version of comm by the two sets of Terror Twins back on Cybertron, and the name still stuck.

**.:That's one thing we can agree on. I'll try reaching him via bro-bond.:. **replied Codex, one of the Prime's younger brothers. Ratchet nodded to the small silver mech as he turned his attention to the sky for a brief moment. Codex bounded over Decepticon shells and hid behind some debris, dimming his optics to help focus on opening his bond with the elder brother.

**:::Op, big bro! Where the Frag are you?:::**

No reply. Codex grimaced at a slight pinch was felt in his spark. He knew the Prime was alive, but the for some reason the computer specialist couldn't reach him.

"Oh please don't be in stasis lock, please don't be in stasis lock!" Codex murmured as he brought out his acid pellet gun from his subspace and jumped out of hiding. Suddenly he was engulfed in a bright white energy field, then darkness.

* * *

Megatron smirked triumphantly as half his Decepticon army was also engulfed in the energy field emanating from Cybershot, the second Cybercat of the three. The other half he knew would be caught in the third Cybercat's field, he and his officers with them. Fanglash, the first Cybercat to activate, was sitting in Megatron's lap, recharging happily. Megatron had a servo on the Cybercat's helm as he watched the monitors from his throne, malicious thoughts of how he was to kill Prime going through his processor.

"Barricade at your service, Lord Megatron." said a voice from below. Megatron looked down to see a black mech with POLICE painted in bronze on a white background in his arms.

"Barricade, I thought you were with the army that was supposed to be first, just now." Megatron growled.

Barricade cringed at the anger in his master's voice. "An Autobot threw me out of the energy field range just as it came over."

"We'll send you in with the drones next time." said Starscream, sharp servos held behind him. Barricade's red optics flashed angrily in the S.I.C's direction, making sure to hide the flash from Megatron's cold stare. Starscream smirked and looked toward Soundwave, who had uttered a small beep to get Megatron's attention.

"What is it Soundwave?" Megatron asked. Impatience laced his voice as he turned his blood red optics to the communications specialist. Soundwave turned and pointed a long finger to the monitor he stood in front of, the monitor displaying coordinates of a ground-bridge.

"He means that the Autobots have been 'bridged to the middle of a Canadian forest preserve, thousands of miles from known civilization." Knock Out said. Soundwave gave the scientist a blank look, reflecting the vain red mech in his visor. Megatron rolled his optics at Knock Out's jealousy and gave Soundwave a brief nod.

"Well done. None of their human allies will find them?"

Soundwave nodded and glanced at Knock Out before turning back to his monitor. Knock Out crossed his arms and looked at Megatron, trying to keep a straight face. _I created the fraggin' Cybercat idea… _he thought. Silence reigned supreme in the _Nemesis'_s control room for a few short breems until a Flyer came in through the large sliding doors.

"Cybercat number three is ready for activation!"

"Fly the warship low to ensure we're caught in the next energy field." Megatron ordered. Fanglash leapt down from the gray mech's lap to stand beside him as Megatron stood. "Prepare to attack, _NEST_."

* * *

Blurr zipped through the _NEST _warehouse halls, running from Prowl, the second in command –S.I.C- of the Autobots. Dodging Blaster, Blurr jumped over a parked FALCON fighter jet in the hangar just past Blaster's communications quarters, rounding a corner and disappearing outside.

"Blurr!" shouted Prowl, skidding to a stop before he hit the same FALCON jet. A yelp came to the SIC's audio receptors. "Blurr, hello?"

The black and white mech stepped around the fighter and poked around the corner where Blurr had disappeared.

"Decepticons-attacking! Look-out-Prowler!"

Prowl scowled at the use of his hated nickname but forgot that as Blurr's body flew past him and just missed his helm. Blurr hit the opposite hangar wall, thrown by a 'Con bigger than he and Prowl combined.

"Blurr, you alright?" Prowl asked, staying by the wall on the right side of the doorway. A large tan brown mech stepped into the hangar, looking around with blood red optics. Blurr groaned, peeling himself out of the new indent in the wall and collapsing the ground, rubbing his helm. He shuttered his optics and glanced up at the 'Con.

"Whoa, you're-both-HUGE! You-twins? Cause-if-you-are-then-it-will-hurt-if-just-one-is- killed!" Blurr murmured dizzily. Prowl activated his acid pellet gun and aimed at the 'Con's helm, his processor finally able to figure out the Decepticon's designation: Bombshell.

"Bombshell!" the SIC shouted before firing the acid pellet. Bombshell turned to Prowl and growled as the pellet zipped into his left optic; cracking it and making it's way to his processor. Prowl narrowed his optics and ran over to Blurr, willing himself not to shut-down as he usually does when overexcited or surprised as he helped the shorter sky blue mech to his pedes.

"Despite your speed you couldn't dodge'm, huh?" Prowl commented. Blurr shook his helm and shuttered his optics again, still seeing double of everything, especially Bombshell as the acid ate away at the 'Con's processor and helm till he collapsed.

"He-caught-me-off-guard-and-now-my-helm-hurts!" Blurr grumbled. Prowl rolled his optics and walked over to the hangar doors where Bombshell had entered, stepping over the now scrapped FALCON jet and around the scurrying _NEST _personnel, to see dozens of drones waiting.

"Slaggers." Prowl mumbled. Glancing at Blurr, Prowl turned and pressed his doorwings into the wall, spreading them out so he could be almost completely hidden around the corner from the drones. Blurr followed suit, still rubbing his helm, and much to Prowl's relief he didn't feel much like talking.

"What in the Pit is Megatron doing?" Prowled muttered, shifting his weight to see better. Blurr regained control over his optics and stopped shuttering them so often. He grabbed Prowl's servo, running in the opposite direction of a white energy field. Within nano-kliks the area where the two had been only kliks before had vanished into a white energy field. Prowl's optics widened when he realized why Blurr had grabbed him. "Find Firstaid and Redalert!"

"On-it-commander!" Blurr replied. The two joined the said Autobots outside the warehouse, past the reach limit of the field.

"What the slag…" Redalert murmured. Firstaid rubbed his faceplates with both servos, dragging them downward and grumbling something incoherent.

"I can't get anybot's life signal to show… they just may be-"

"Don't say it!" Prowl growled. His processor was overheating, according to Firstaid's scanners.

"But it may be a glitch." Firstaid finished quickly. Prowl vented his systems and sighed, mentally scolding himself for nearly exploding at the other three 'Bots.

_What's gotten into - oh scrap. Silvermoon!_ Prowl thought. Redalert looked at Prowl's faceplates and raised an optic-ridge. Blurr stood beside Prowl, rubbing a dent in his helm as he watched Firstaid tinker with a sensor.

"Where ever they all are, let's just hope Primus'll keep them safe." Redalert murmured, gazing at the horizon. The energy field had vanished, leaving no Cybertronians, even when the _Nemesis _still hovered what remained of the warehouse and _NEST _personnel.

All four mechs activated their comms and split up to see if they could find any clues to the Autobot's whereabouts.

* * *

**Please R&R! ^_^**


	3. Chapter 2

Optimus emerged from the trees, trailing behind Goldenstar into another clearing, some ten breems after being found, to the Blazeclan camp. To the right of the entrance were three dens, covered in moss and bushes except for small entrances in the front. Straight ahead was a larger, cat-sized cave in a rock shaped like a ledge the size of Optimus's robotic fist, also hidden by moss and small bushes. There were cats of all sizes and colors scattered around the clearing, most pausing in their activities to look at the strangely colored new cats. One black tom trotted up to Goldenstar and looked curiously at Optimus. Optimus peered back, noting the tom was nearly a whole head shorter than the gold she cat.

"So… who are the new cats?" the tom asked. Goldenstar nodded her head in the Autobots' direction.

"They say they are the Autobots." She said. "I have no idea what in the name of Tigerstar what Autobots are!" she added into the tom's ear. "Er… Autobots, this is Nightwing, my deputy."

"My second in command is still normal, as I know it." Optimus said. Ironhide twitched an ear.

"Who knows? There may be more Fraggin' Cybercats where that first one came from." He grumbled. Optimus sighed when he glanced at the black tom. Goldenstar and Nightwing exchanged confused glances.

"Second in command? Cybercats? What the heck is going on?" Goldenstar asked. _These toms are getting stranger by the minute, _she thought. "Who are you cats?"

Optimus started his habit of putting up a hologram of Cybertron and poked at the side of his head with a claw, but nothing happened. In his normal form, there would usually be a button. Cats can't have buttons. Everycat stared. It was then Bumblebee decided to see if they still had their family spark-bond.

**:::I don't think holograms will work like this.::: **Echoed in Optimus's head. He glanced at Bumblebee with a sheepish look. **:::If I could, I'd explain everything. But I can't.::: **The yellow tom added.

**:::I'm sorry Bumblebee. We will find our way back to normal somehow.::: **Optimus replied, looking back at Goldenstar and Nightwing.

"Are you some sort'o telepath?" Goldenstar asked, confused by the few minutes of silence with Optimus and Bumblebee looking at each other. Sideswipe face-pawed with a groan.

"No. It's called a bond. We can speak through bonds to those we are bonded with. Such as mine, I can talk to my twin brother, Sunstreaker, via our sparks." He said. He simply earned a few confused looks from cats that heard him. "It's a long story."

"Well, I've got plenty of time. Follow me," Goldenstar said, padding over to the cave in the rock. Optimus sighed and followed, head low as he watched the other clan cats. Ironhide snapped at Furyclaw and bounded ahead of Optimus in a failed attempt to escape the psychotic she-cat. "And just ignore Furrehclaw." Goldenstar added. Everyone knew that was meant for the weapons specialist. The four toms stepped into the cave with Nightwing and Goldenstar, who was already seated on a nest of moss and leaves in the back of the hole. "See, we both have plenty of time for tonight's apprentice ceremony."

"Apprentice ceremony?" Sideswipe echoed.

"When I make the kits into apprentices and assign them to mentors…"

"I think I understand." Optimus said, sitting beside Bumblebee. Bumblebee nodded when Optimus explained his theory to him via bond. "When they are officially made younglings and given teachers…"

"Eh… more or less." Goldenstar said, shrugging. Nightwing licked a paw absentmindedly. "Now, about your terms and 'bonds'? I'm particularly curious of your customs, differing from our own."

Optimus sighed deeply and began telling the same story he told Samuel Witwicky and Mikaela of Cybertron, Megatron, and the War for Cybertron; including their own Cybertronian terms. Goldenstar listened intently, interrupting only to have Nightwing fetch Aeropaw, a blind and mute cat apprenticed to Brighteyes, a fellow blind cat. Surprisingly, when Optimus described his robotic self, Aeropaw drew a striking resemblance in the dirt with her paw, not a single detail missing, despite her inability to see what she was doing. His battle helm horns were simply lines in the dirt, battle mask out and optics narrowed, a little detail Sideswipe described. "That's Optimus." Ironhide said. Aeropaw smiled and turned her head toward Goldenstar's voice.

"I see we may have something big on our paws." The golden leader said, standing. "Something bigger than a simple Clan War."

Codex groaned and opened his eyes to see himself in the middle of a nook in a tree, high up, with the furred bodies of cats strung over branches all around him. _What the Frag? Am I dreaming? _He thought, slowly raising his head. He looked down to check how high he was and nearly fell out of the nook when he saw how high he was and that his servos were no longer servos, but paws. Like those of Mojo, Sam's demonic Chihuahua, only furrier, and the claws were hidden beneath fur. Silver tinted fur. Codex quickly stood and dug his claws into the bark of the tree, closing his eyes as he began to feel dizzy and small. He was usually a small mech, always the shortest and last to be chosen for a mission, but he had never minded being small in comparison to anything. Now, being even smaller, he felt it.

"O-Op-Optimus?" he stuttered, huddling closer to the tree branch. He looked himself over quickly and unsheathed his claws, swiping them across his cheek. Pain. It wasn't a dream. Codex wiped away the blood and gasped. His blood was red on his paw, with almost no hint of energon except for the rare glimpse of blue swirls.

"Codex, you alright?" Codex turned and yelped when he looked down again, deciding to keep his eyes on the branches littered with cats. He recognized the voice as Ratchet's, coming from a white tomcat with red streaks, the medic's dark blue eyes showing worry through the darkness of the tree's leaves, blocking out the sun. The smaller tom nodded and twitched his tail; anxious to get out of the tree A.S.A.P. Ratchet recognized the youngling's fear from vorns ago, when he was found in the Sea of Rust on Cybertron, Optimus's long lost little brother, lowered his ears and ignored the fact that they weren't themselves. "Stay there. I'm going to wake Arcee and get us all out of the tree." He said. Codex nodded again in response, too dizzy to speak as he curled up in the nook, his tail tight against his side.

Ratchet soon had Arcee, a dark blue she-cat; Ultra Magnus, a blue and red tom with white highlights; Perceptor, a red tom with black highlights; and a handful of others on the ground, Codex huddled among them as he got over the fright of being so high and small, as Ratchet understood. The youngling had been alone among things much larger than him for too long in the Sea of Rust, and to add to that he had fallen from the Decepticon's warship times too numerous to count, explaining his fear of heights that suddenly emerged.

"Why the Frag do I have a tail?" Arcee asked, twitching said limb. Ultra Magnus sighed and rubbed his temple, sitting beside Perceptor, who was examining himself thoroughly with occasional interested 'hmm's. "And what were we doing in a tree?"

"It seems Megatron has done something with the Cybercats. I fear he had Shockwave engineer the Cybercats to turn _usinto _cats." Ratchet said, absentmindedly licking his paw. He quickly stopped when he realized what he was doing, and Codex couldn't help but snicker. "With all the Earth cat instincts." Ratchet added, trying to cover-up what he had caught himself doing. Arcee huffed and leaned against a white and light pink she-cat, her sister, Elita-1, while she gave Ratchet a death-glare. Codex took the chance to speak up.

"Elita and I may be able to contact Optimus, since we are all the same form now." He said, meaning to test his theory about the pinch in his spark the last time he tried to contact his elder brother. Perceptor and Ratchet exchanged glances.

"It's worth a shot." Elita said, pushing her younger sister off of her shoulder and standing. "If anybot can find out more about a predicament, it's my Optimus."

Codex beamed and stood beside his stepsister, shaking off the memory of the tree as he put on a determined look. Ultra Magnus raised his head higher and looked down on Codex through narrowed eyelids and a scar he didn't have as his robotic self over his left eye.

"Fine. Try it." Ratchet said, walking over to Pitchfire, a black tom who had been injured before being changed. Perceptor followed suit with another orange tom who seemed to be bleeding to death nearby. _Hotrod…?_ Codex thought as he and Elita turned toward each other. Elita noticed the youngling looked uncertain and placed a comforting paw on his shoulder.

"We can do it, together." She said. Codex straightened and closed his eyes, searching his spark for his brother's bond and nearly crying out for joy when he found they all still had sparks instead of the more vulnerable Earthen hearts every native had. He grinned and sent the same message repeatedly: **:::Op', where are you?::: **

"That's me alright." Ironhide said when Aeropaw finished her drawing of him.

"Impressive." Goldenstar murmured. Ironhide smirked and moved back behind Optimus, who had curled up beside Bumblebee and was staring sleepily at nothing. Bumblebee had just jarred him back to his senses when there was a push at his spark and two familiar voices echoing in his mind. He jolted to his paws when he realized who the voices belonged to. "Optimus?"

"I-I… excuse me." Optimus said, trotting out of the leader's den. Bumblebee and Sideswipe exchanged glances before Bumblebee rose to follow his father.

Optimus didn't stop walking until he was just outside the Blazeclan camp entrance, far enough way for neither he nor the clan could hear each other. He braced himself against a tree trunk as he replied to the voices coming through his bonds. **:::Elita! Codex!:::**

**:::Optimus!::: **their voices came in unison. Optimus couldn't hold back a smile as he sat down, facing the Blazeclan camp. **:::Where the Frag are you?::: **Elita asked.

**:::I honestly have no clue. With some cats who call themselves Blazeclan.:::** Optimus replied. He jumped at the sound of a snapping branch and turned to see it was Bumblebee.

**:::Which bots are with you?::: **Codex asked. Elita expressed the same concern.

**:::Bumblebee, Ironhide, and Sideswipe. We're safe, and I'd send you a data-burst if I could but my processor isn't the same.:::**

**:::Neither are ours.:::-Elita**

**:::Mom!:::-Bumblebee**

**:::Bee!:::-Elita**.

Optimus watched the happiness on his younglings face and smiled. Family reunions over bond aren't easy, being separated, but it was comforting. "Bumblebee, we have to head back to the camp." He said, standing. He let love flow through the bond to all three of his family members before he turned back to the camp. Bumblebee nodded and followed.

**:::Be safe.:::-Codex**

"What the Frag was that about, Prime?" Ironhide asked when Optimus and Bumblebee reentered the leader's den. Nightwing wore a frown as he sat beside Goldenstar, who had lain down with her paws folded beneath her chest and her tail wrapped tightly around her. She yawned and looked up at Optimus.

"You all look tired… Nightwing, take Aeropaw back to her mentor and tell Sealeaf to come here." She meowed, finishing with another yawn. True, the Autobots were tired, but only because they've had a long day and it was getting dark. "Be cautious, though. You know what's been going on." Nightwing nodded briefly before he left with the amber brown apprentice. Sealeaf, the aqua blue/green she-cat from when the Autobots were first found soon appeared in the entrance to the den, her green eyes bright and cheerful. "Sealeaf, please show them to the visitor den."

"Yes'm." Sealeaf replied, motioning the Autobots to follow her back out. Optimus turned again and led his friends along behind the she-cat toward another den he hadn't noticed at first, hidden so well right next to the entrance to the camp it was virtually nonexistent to those who had no knowledge of it. "You'll all be staying here for the time being." Sealeaf said, stepping aside to let Optimus and the others through. The den was spacious, with at least half a dozen pre-made nests toward the back and extra moss nearer to the opening. It was darker than the leader's den; somewhat depressing to the Prime compared to the numerous other places Optimus had been in. Sealeaf left them there to get settled, but Optimus found that hard to do, with his mind repeatedly wandering to the Autobots and their possibly short future.

**:::Orion, cheer up.:::** Optimus started and looked around, earning a few confused glances from the other Autobots. **:::It's just me, Elita, numbnuts!:::**

**:::Sorry Elita. You just startled me.::: **Optimus replied as he walked over to the nest in the farthest corner of the den. **:::I'm a little on edge…:::**

**:::Oh, I couldn't tell.::: **Optimus sensed sarcasm in his sparkmate's voice and couldn't help but smile slightly in the dark.

**:::So, how are the other bots?:::**

**:::Cats, you mean. Hotrod was wounded pretty badly before the energy field hit us, and Pitchfire fell out of the tree as a cat and broke an arm… ahem, I mean foreleg. That's all the info I got out of ol'Hatchet before he had Ultra Magnus kick me out of the bush they were using to hide the injured.::: **Elita went on about how grumpy Magnus and Ratchet were being while Optimus's mind wandered yet again. Elita sensed his distance and barked through the bond. **:::Are you falling asleep or somethin'?!:::**

Optimus jolted back to his senses and frowned, laying his head on his paws with his tail over his nose, letting the cat's natural instincts take over. **:::No, but I might soon. 'Lita, I fear we might not make it through this while separated…:::**

**:::Do. Not. Say. That. Word. Fear is a four-letter word and that's all you should know of it.:::**

Optimus sighed and looked toward Bumblebee, whose sky blue eyes shone in the dark as the youngling watched him. **:::Mom's right.:::**

**:::…::: **Optimus simply turned his head toward the wall of the den and close his eyes. **:::Go recharge, 'Bee. 'Lita, please. There's always some twisted plan behind something my elder brother does, and this doesn't look good.:::**

**:::It never looks good, nincompoop.::: **Elita retorted. Optimus sighed. _She doesn't understand…_he thought. **:::Now, I'm tired, Codex is snoring, 'Cee is being a steam train, and Jazz is being straight out annoying. Good lunar, Hun.:::-Elita**

**:::Goodnight.::: **Optimus replied, turning his head back around to watch Bumblebee as the scout slept. _What's your move this time, Megatron? I'll play your game… and we'll see who wins._

Blowback smacked the Vehicon in the helm angrily at his reply to the sky blue mech's question, "Were all Autobots taken?"

"I-I'm not sure, sir." The Vehicon said, cowering. Blowback was a strong mech, not one to be messed with by anybot, not even those much larger than him. The only mech he feared was Megatron, but any other mech was simply an obstacle he had to crush beneath his pede. He had a heavy build, like Breakdown, but carried a strong resemblance to the Autobot weapons specialist, Ironhide, and even requested Knock Out to put twin cannons on his arms so he would be 'A 'Con version of Ironhide.'

"Lieutenant Blowback, I have a visual on four Autobots near the D.C _NEST_ warehouse." reported a Flyer on surveillance. Blowback growled one last time at the Vehicon before walking over to the Flyer.

"Prowl, Blurr, Firstaid and Redalert… scrap." Blowback grumbled under his breath. The Flyer looked up uneasily and shrunk back at the look of hatred on Blowback's faceplates. "Send out three dozen of Starscream's best Armada." Blowback ordered, transforming into a sky blue Dodge Ram 1500 and disappearing to the cargo bay doors of the small Decepticon ship, the _Lexus Star_ to join the Seekers he had ordered out. The cargo doors were open when he got to them and he transformed to bipedal form, skidding on his pedes out the door. He smirked when he began his free-fall toward Earth, balling his servos and narrowed his optics. Only 20 feet from the ground he transformed into a FALCON 15 fighter jet and rocketed toward the targeted _NEST _warehouse, chuckling quietly.

Prowl twitched his doorwings in annoyance, suppressing the urge to turn around and punch Blurr for his repeated and continuous stream of questions. Firstaid had fixed the dent in the blue mech's helm, much to Prowl's dismay, and shortly afterward, the youngling had felt like talking again. Prowl was on the end of his rope when a sky blue military jet flew overhead. The S.I.C instantly tackled Blurr to the ground, covering his helm as Blurr did the same. The jet dropped a couple bombs, which exploded on either side of the two mechs, and was quickly followed by the three-dozen Flyers open firing. "Where the Frag did they come from?!" Prowl growled, jumping up and dragging Blurr to his pedes before taking off for the warehouse, where Lennox was waiting before he began firing on the Decepticons.

"Uh-Oh! That's-Blowback-Ironhide's-sparkling!" Blurr yelped when the FALCON jet came over again. With a loud whirr, the jet transformed midair and landed in front of Prowl with a dull thud. "Definitely-Blowback!"

"Hello again, Prowler. Having fun without the Prime?" Blowback asked. Prowl growled at his hated nickname and unspaced his acid pellet gun, aiming at the Decepticon mech's helm. "Oh, scrap the acid pellet, Prowler. I know you only have one left at the moment."

Prowl wavered slightly, his doorwings raised as high as he was alert, when he realized what Blowback said was true. He had used most of his acid pellets to kill other Decepticons so they wouldn't tell the commanding 'Cons about their whereabouts in the last lunar cycle. Blowback smirked while Blurr held off the Flyers behind Prowl.

"Blowback, you have done a great wrong to your ancestors by joining the Decepticons. Your punishment will come soon." Prowl said through gritted teeth, aiming his gun at Blowback's spark chamber. The Decepticon simply laughed.

"Nah, it won't." Blowback said when he finally stopped laughing. "You see, I was rebuilt for a special mission; transform any remaining Autobots should the three Cybercats miss some." He laughed, beginning to glow a bright white. Prowl dropped his pellet gun and backed away, optics wide as he recognized the energy signature. Blowback unsheathed his battle blade from his servo and jumped forward, stabbing Prowl's chestplates in a klik. Prowl gasped and fell backward, a servo over the new gash as Blowback grew brighter. Blurr shouted something to Firstaid and Redalert, but Prowl couldn't catch it when the energy field engulfed the four of them.


End file.
